Starring: Ben Affleck, Jennifer Garner, Michael Clarke Duncan, Colin Farrell
Directed by: Mark Steven Johnson

Daredevil is the latest movie to ride the wave of popularity that has been generated for movies based on comic books. Ben Affleck plays one of Stan Lee's more original super heroes, Daredevil, a man who was blinded by a chemical spill that heightened his other senses to super human... ummm... goodness.... Nyarr...

Anyway, the basic story is Daredevil and the very, very hot Elektra played by Jennifer Garner are seeking revenge for the death of their parents. Their quest for vengeance leads them on a trail to the very, very big Kingpin of Crime, Wilson Fisk played by Michael Clarke Duncan.

The story lacked a plot but it did have some good things for it. Mark Steven Johnson is a decent director, adding a dark touch to this super hero. This movie is not as bubbly and light as Spiderman. No comical goblin fights over a colorful parade with Macy Gray singing here. There's blood and softcore gothic imagery. That combined with the kind of tormented quality all the characters have makes it a more 'adult' comic book movie.

They make it work, though some of the fight scenes fall flat. There's one scene in particular in a bar that is so dark and the shots are so choppy that you don't even know what's going on. He also puts a lot of strange religious symbols in the movie like the villain's hands with holes in them as if he had been nailed to a cross. I find that meaningless symbolism is the sign of cheap directing. Unless it actually emphasizes some theme in the movie it's just cheap sensationalism. The special effects were great, particularly Daredevil's radar sense. In his mind everything takes place in this blue field that is 'visible' as sound waves bouncing off of objects.

A big strength of the movie were the actors. They really suited their roles. Jennifer Garner is really great in her role serving as both the eye-candy and the mighty female warrior in the movie. Yay! The increasingly popular Colin Farrell plays the twitchy henchman of the Kingpin, Bullseye. The character adds a touch of dark humour to the movie and some decent action scenes revolve around him.

Then there's the Kingpin. I was a little concerned when they decided to cast Michael Clarke Duncan in the role since Kingpin is a white guy and has been portrayed as such in many comic books for many decades. But it's clear that they made the right choice. Michael Clarke Duncan looks exactly like the Kingpin aside from the fact that he's black. I don't think anyone could have done the role nearly as well as he did.

There's really nothing here that's overly impressive aside from the fact that they pay homage to one of the more interesting super heroes. There are some cameos by artists who used to draw Daredevil comic books. Kevin Smith (Silent Bob from Jay and Silent Bob) makes an appearance as well as notorious ham and comic book genius Stan Lee. But who doesn't feel a certain amount of joy when they see Stan Lee making a cameo with some dumbfounded look on his face?

I enjoyed the movie because I was a fan of the comic book, otherwise this movie might have made a good rental. After having seen Spiderman, Blade and X-men and the X-men 2 trailer, this seems like a throwaway comic book movie; good but not great. But with Hulk just around the corner I'm already trying to stifle my gag reflex as producers continue to exploit my favourite comic characters with the heedlessness of strip miners.

MastaCSG
Ten

Second Opinions

DroopyMcC		Dark, funny and violent, this is a very good movie. Just this close to being great, it lacked a certain punch. Some bad directing also brings it a bit down. I liked the Marvel comics staff name-dropping throughout, also.
Ten

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